Daelyn's 5th birthday is Sunday. However, we never thought about that when we planned the trip to visit Don's parents while the kids are out of school for Easter break.
We had intended to spend a week with them at Christmas, but the trip to England made that impossible. So we promised to bring their grandchildren in the Spring. We didn't realize until plans were well underway that Daelyn would be in West Virginia for his birthday and away from his daddy.
Don can't leave because this is a popular week for vacations at work, so he planned on working this week and giving the others guys the chance to be off. Plus, it's the last handbell practice before Easter, and he can't miss it. He gave Dane and I permission to miss if we practice REAL hard this week and take our music home with us. I gladly agreed. We're not playing anything very difficult.
Last night, I began to get a little overwhelmed. Dane's teacher sent a sign-up sheet home for their Easter party the day following Easter, when the kids return to school. I just couldn't deal with it. Overload. In addition to lots of things to do for the wedding of our dear friend, Ken, which is the middle of April, I also have Easter to prepare for before we leave and Daelyn's birthday. He's having a Chuck E. Cheese party with his friends on Friday morning, then the family party with Daddy Friday evening, and we leave Friday night. Somewhere inbetween, I have to fill and tape 18 eggs for Dane's party, buy several shower gifts for Ken's fiance, get Easter outfits and shoes for the whole family, pull together everything for the Easter baskets I do for all my family and a cousin who'll be spending Easter with us, buy gifts for the children from me and Don (we try to make Easter equally as important as Christmas and always give presents to stress the theological importance of this Holy day), get a gift for Don, do the laundry, the packing, and leave food for Don to eat while we're gone and a grocery list for what I'll need when we return.
Can you see why I'm on overload? Yesterday, I ran all day, from the time I left to take the children to school until 5:20, as we pulled in the driveway after school. I told the children that they had 15 minutes before we needed to leave again to pick up our pizza to take to our Support Group pizza dinner. Deanna said, "Mom, I've got a lot of homework."
"Why are you just now telling me this?" I asked her. But she got it all done and the evening got all done. Don and I fell into bed and I began to talk - a stress-reliever for me at bedtime. I told him about how I had let my brother-in-law down because I was supposed to take him to pick up my niece's car, but had to leave to get the kids from school before he arrived. When we came home to get him, he had already left. I told him about the busyness and how much more I had left to do. I told him that I longed for England and not having a car. I told him that I love our life but it sure is tiring. He fell asleep. I guess his life is tiring, too.
Now, I'm taking the time to post - another stress-reliever - before I jump into making dinner. I finished Dane's eggs for school and put them in his backpack. The children are hosing down my parent's car to wash off some of the pollen and playing in the water, being sure to squirt each other liberally. (It's okay. They all put on their bathing suits first.) Their laughter outside reminds me of what's really important in life.
Take time to smell the beautiful spring flowers, or hose down the pollen. Even if it's just a 5-minute Post in a very busy week, it's the little things that build the quality of our lives. Five minutes of fun and laughter can make a difficult day seem bearable and can make a fun day an absolute blast.
And pray for mercy - that only our Lord can give - in great big drops like rain falling from Heaven. Mercy for your busy people, Lord. Mercy.
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